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The Realm Online

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The Realm Online
Developer(s)Sierra On-Line (previous), Codemasters (previous), Norseman Games (previous), Rat Labs (previous), Realm Worlds (previous), Digital Alchemy (current)
Publisher(s)Sierra On-Line (previous), World Opponent Network (previous), Codemasters (previous), Norseman Games (previous), Virtual World Holding Company (current)
Designer(s)Stephen Nichols, Jordan Neville, Gil
Platform(s)Windows
Release
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

The Realm Online, originally known as The Realm, is a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) launched in December 1996 for Windows PC.[1] It was designed in the tradition of graphical MUDs,[2] before the usage of the terms "massively multiplayer" and "MMORPG".[3]

Initially published by Sierra On-Line and developed at its original design facility in Oakhurst, California alongside classic single-player titles like Quest for Glory and Police Quest,[4] it was abandoned by that company because of its unfavorable comparison to multi-player competitors like Ultima Online and EverQuest.[5] It was next taken up for a short time by World Opponent Network, a subsidiary of Sierra On-line, before being sold to Codemasters in 1999.[6] In 2003, Codemasters sold the game to Norseman Games, a family-owned company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan[7] led by a former player of The Realm.[8]

In 2018, Norseman Games granted an exclusive license to develop and distribute The Realm Online to Rat Labs,[9] a company led by players who had previously operated an unofficial private server of the game.[10] In 2023, Rat Labs (by then renamed as Realm Worlds) announced that they had unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate the purchase of The Realm from Norseman Games and that the game server they had developed, titled Finvarra's Fortress, would close.[11] It then became public that Norseman Games had sold The Realm to Virtual Worlds Holding Company, who licensed the game to be developed by Digital Alchemy[12] who published a new game server in November 2023.[13]

Development

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Development for The Realm began at Sierra On-Line in 1995 led by David Slayback and Stephen Nichols, who had previously worked on games for the pioneering internet gaming platform The Sierra Network. The Realm was conceived as an online adaptation of Sierra's single-player adventures with an emphasis on expanding the familiar adventure game inventory system into an interactive trading system. The game was developed using Sierra's in-house SCI (Sierra Creative Interpreter) environment.[14]

Gameplay

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The Realm Online uses turn-based combat, which makes it different from other MUDs of its generation,[3] and is convenient for players with a bad Internet connection.[15] it has been credited to be the first virtual world to use instances, with every battle taking place in a special room outside of the open world.[16]

The game has been criticized for its unforgiving character creation: a character that hasn't been created optimally can't reach maximum potential.[15]

Popularity

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In the game's first year, 25,000 user accounts had been made. In 2008, the server would still reach an online population of 100 to 200 players during peak hours and has since returned to these numbers with the release of the free to play version of the server.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Realm Online - Online Game of the Week".
  2. ^ a b Lynn, Casey (2008-11-17). "RPG Nostalgia: The Realm". Geeks are Sexy. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  3. ^ a b "The Top Ten Oldest MMORPGs - MMO Hut". mmohuts.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-18.
  4. ^ "Yosemite Entertainment - Press Release, 1.26.98".
  5. ^ Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-13-101816-7.
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20000301221421/http://www.realmserver.com/news/index.html [bare URL]
  7. ^ "IT Industry Growing Quickly". 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22.
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20050211161249/http://www.realmserver.com/dev_Journal_Scott.shtml [bare URL]
  9. ^ "The Game Archaeologist: The rebirth of the Realm Online | Massively Overpowered". 2 June 2018.
  10. ^ "The Realm Online -". Archived from the original on 2020-11-09.
  11. ^ "An Obituary: The Realm Online MMO gets death knell".
  12. ^ "The Realm Online's corporate buyer surfaces with a bizarre website and studio partner | Massively Overpowered". 3 July 2023.
  13. ^ "The Realm Online returns yet again with a 'reimagined' version of this classic MMO | Massively Overpowered". 23 November 2023.
  14. ^ Williams, Ken (2020). Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings: The Rise and Fall of Sierra On-Line. United States: Lulu. pp. 358–359. ISBN 978-1-71672-736-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ a b "Realm Online Review".
  16. ^ Horn, Daniel Reiter (2011). Using a Physical Metaphor to Scale Up Communication in Virtual Worlds. Stanford University. p. 11. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
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